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Mildly stressing mitochondria with an antibiotic can increase tolerance against respiratory infections, shows a study by scientists at EPFL. Many respiratory infections, such as influenza or COVID-19 add significant stress to cells and organs, which can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which itself can eventually cause death in aged or sensitive individuals.

Analyzing EEG measurements of almost two hundred schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, researchers at EPFL now challenge the standard paradigm underlying research in the field. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that impairs a person's ability to think, feel, and behave, often making them seem that they have "lost touch with reality".

A PhD thesis carried out at EPFL has shown that, based on realistic forecasts, the only way we'll be able to shrink the environmental footprint of residential dwelling by 2050 in Switzerland is through a joint effort between housing owners and tenants. The thesis research, performed by civil engineering student Margarita Agriantoni, is based on computer simulations of different housing development scenarios over the next 30 years (from 2020 to 2050).

Scientists have discovered a rare gene in the tumors of some colorectal cancer patients. This finding could lead to more accurate diagnoses and, eventually, personalized treatments that target the protein expressed by the gene. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the Western world, especially in people over 50.

A new study by researchers reveals how a malfunctioning protein complex can lead to the buildup of toxic forms of Tau, a protein involved in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease are associated with atypical proteins that form tangles in the brain, killing neurons.

Scientists from EPFL, the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences and the University of Göttingen have successfully created electron-photon pairs for the first time in a controlled way, using integrated photonic circuits on a chip. Using a new technique, they could precisely detect the involved particles.

EPFL scientists have found that vanadium oxide (VO2), a material used in electronics, has the ability to remember the entire history of the stimuli it receives. This is the first material to be identified as such, but there may be others. This discovery was a fluke. Mohammad Samizadeh Nikoo, a PhD student in the Power Semiconductor Devices Laboratory (POWERlab) , wanted to study the transition of vanadium oxide (VO2).

Researchers have discovered that Vanadium Dioxide (VO2), a compound used in electronics, is capable of "remembering" the entire history of previous external stimuli. This is the first material to be identified as possessing this property, although there could be others. Mohammad Samizadeh Nikoo, a PhD candidate at EPFL's Power and Wide-band-gap Electronics Research Laboratory (POWERlab), made a chance discovery during his research on phase transitions in Vanadium Dioxide (VO2).

A new technique keeps cells alive during extraction to track the activity of thousands of genes across time. The breakthrough method is called Live-seq and was jointly developed by scientists at EPFL and ETH Zurich. RNA sequencing allows scientists to study the expression of genes in a cell. Since messenger RNA (mRNA) is generated from a DNA gene, that information can be used to identify the original gene sequence and thus measure the activity of thousands of genes (i.e.

A method known as quantum key distribution has long held the promise of communication security not possible in conventional cryptography. For the first time, an international team of scientists, including researchers from EPFL, has demonstrated experimentally an approach to quantum key distribution based on high-quality quantum entanglement - offering much broader security guarantees than previous schemes.

Non-invasive brain stimulation can restore optimal motor skill acquisition in people with diminished learning capabilities, e.g. due to age. The study was carried out by scientists at EPFL. Even though we don't think about it, every movement we make in our daily life essentially consists of a sequence of smaller actions in a specific order.

Scientists from EPFL and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF have gained deeper insight into how snow slab avalanches form, paving the way to more effective risk assessment measures for these catastrophic events that induce more avalanche accidents and fatalities every year than other types of avalanches.

Researchers have shown that people's perception of office temperature can vary considerably. Personalized climate control could therefore help enhance workers' comfort - and save energy at the same time. Global warming means that heatwaves are becoming ever-more frequent. At the same time, we're in a global race against the clock to reduce buildings' energy use and carbon footprint by 2050.

Thanks to genetic tools that allow computers to accurately count neurons from microscopy images, researchers have estimated with unprecedented accuracy the number of neurons and other types of cells in the brain of fruit fly larvae-and discovered that females have substantially more neurons than males.

An innovative new collaboration between EPFL's HexHive Laboratory and Oracle has developed automated, far-reaching technology in the ongoing battle between IT security managers and attackers, hoping to find bugs before the hackers do. On the 9th of December 2021 the world of IT security went into a state of shock.

Researchers have used swarms of drones to measure city traffic with unprecedented accuracy and precision. Algorithms are then used to identify sources of traffic jams and recommend solutions to alleviate traffic problems. Given the wealth of modern technology available - roadside cameras, big-data algorithms, Bluetooth and RFID connections, and smartphones in every pocket - transportation engineers should be able to accurately measure and forecast city traffic.

Scientists at EPFL have found a way to synthesize large numbers of macrocyclic compounds, which are needed for developing drugs against difficult disease targets. When pharmaceutical companies begin looking for a drug candidate, they use a filtering process known as "high-throughput screening". Here, large numbers of different chemical compounds are tested to see which will bind to a protein that is the target of the disease they want to address.

Scientists have developed a new, PET-like plastic that is easily made from the non-edible parts of plants. The plastic is tough, heat-resistant, and a good barrier to gases like oxygen, making it a promising candidate for food packaging. Due to its structure, the new plastic can also be chemically recycled and degrade back to harmless sugars in the environment.

Scientists have produced a series of maps showing historical migration events, including the migration of mountain farmers native to Upper Valais who began to settle in German-speaking Switzerland in the 13th century, by applying methods from population genetics - but using linguistic data rather than genes.

Researcher and architect Catarina Wall Gago has published a guide to renovation best practices, drawing on a study of historic housing in Lisbon, Oporto and Geneva.